Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif suggested a goal of US$10 billion in trade between Vietnam and Pakistan in the coming years during a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. 

The meeting was held within the framework of PM Chinh’s trip to Saudi Arabia for attending the eighth edition of the Future Investment Initiative Summit (FII8) and paying a working visit to the country from October 29 to 30.

During the talks, conducted on the FII8’s sidelines, PM Chinh affirmed that Vietnam consistently attaches importance to the friendship and cooperation with Pakistan, wishing to deepen the bilateral cooperation, especially in trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchange.

He noted that economic and trade ties between Vietnam and the South Asian country have yet to match their strong political relations, emphasizing that there is significant potential for cooperation between the two nations, with a combined market of 300 million people.

The PM insisted on further opening markets to one another and organizing more business, investment, and tourism forums to deepen mutual understanding, enhance information sharing, and create more opportunities for collaboration.

Fully agreeing with Chinh’s suggestions, PM Sharif proposed that both countries should set an ambitious target of pushing two-way trade to $10 billion in the coming years.

This goal is much far higher than the $700 million bilateral turnover recorded last year. 

In the first half of 2024, trade between the two countries exceeded $400 million, marking a 28-percent increase year-on-year, with projections to reach around $900 million for the full year, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

The two prime ministers agreed to boost delegation exchanges to advance cooperation in sectors including information and communications, agriculture, digital transformation, green transition, and the circular economy.

Both sides were also committed to further strengthening mutual coordination and support at international and multilateral forums for common benefits and for the sake of peace, cooperation, and development.

PM Sharif took the opportunity to extend his condolences over the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who died on July 19 at the age of 80.

The Vietnamese premier invited PM Sharif to visit Vietnam soon, an invitation that the Pakistani leader gladly accepted.

PM Chinh also asked Sharif to convey the same invitations from Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to the respective Pakistani leaders.

Vietnam and Pakistan established diplomatic relations in November 1972 and the bilateral ties have fruitfully developed since then.

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